Rangoli-sans-dots - It is a big collection of small kolam / rangoli designs hand drawn , few art and craft. Kolam designs include some simple , easy patterns with dots and without for beginners and kids with steps . It also has colourful free hand designs for festivals viz. Diwali rangoli, Sankranthi muggulu ,Margazhi kolam . You may also discover some Indian vegetarian recipes for festivals, traditional crafts like flowers decoration, aarti plate art and information on some Indian festivals

Advertisement

Big rangoli or kolam ( 19 to 21 dots )

Recenly my elder sister went through Rangoli-sans-dots and said a few nice things about it. I know she doesn't do it because I am her sister. I was elated because her opinion, if it is not straight from the horse's mouth it is the next thing to it. Of course she also gave some suggestions on how and where to improve. I am trying to implement them . Accordingly, I am also organising some of the posts according to the relevant themes. This post is on big kolam or big rangoli (all with dots). The designs below are in public domain for at least decades if not for centuries but drawing them is challenging due to the patterns involved and the time taken. If all the patterns are to be finished with colours it takes a longer time. Hence it is usual to find these designs during Margazhi season when kolam making is at its peak in Tamil Nadu.The first one above is with dots pattern 19 by 9 dots, 11 by 1 on either side and 9 to 4 on either side.The method to draw this through some photos of intermediate designs is available in birds kolam with dots. Draw the floral patterns at the centre and the outside. Then add the birds facing each other with fruits in their beaks. Fill the kolam and the background with colours to get a beautiful and big kolam for the season. This is also a common design. The birds kolam design and other big kolam are usually popular during Margazhi season when we see big and colourful kolam designs for Margazhi kolam decorating many streets.

Of all the Indian birds the peacock is the most colourful. It has been a source of inspiration for Indians to add a dash of colour where ever possible. My children tell me that the birds like birds of paradise, rainbow lorekeet and macaw are also very colourful. Anyway, colours make the world a better place to live in. The world in black and white is incomprehensible and unthinkable.However the rangoli below are no where close to nature in resplendent colour!

The images below show the intermediate stages of the kolam with four pairs of birds and leaf / petals patterns to give an idea as to how the kolam progresses. As shown in the first photo the floral patterns on the four sides are drawn. Then as in the second photo the pattern at the centre is drawn. The remaining dots are used to draw the birds. This big kolam is usually drawn for Margazhi, or Sankranthi

The finished kolam is shown in the image below after applying the colours This rangoli with dots is of the following pattern 19 x 9 dots, then 11 x 1 on either side and finally 9 x 4 on either side.It takes some time to complete. Colourful birds in nature inspire us to draw colourful rangolis.The background is filled with used rangoli powder. There is a video on my YouTube channel is a series of photos and shows how to go about drawing this design from the dot pattern to the finished stage. Draw the leaf pattern at the centre using the dot grid as shown in the video.

Then draw all the four pairs of birds holding the fruits one by one. Finally fill the remaining space with the floral and other motifs . Add colours to the rangoli design as shown in the image above. It can be stopped at this stage. However I have filled the background also with rangoli powder to give an enhanced effect. This will take some time and we need patience to complete it. Care should be taken at all stages of filling the rangoli to ensure that there is no overlapping of one colour over the other. This is a relatively big kolam (or rangoli) with dots.

This design represents the claws of a crab - in fact it appears as if six crabs are there. This is quite a common kolam design. Since the dot pattern is 21 to 11 it takes quite some time to complete it. This pattern with colours is available in New year rangoli

However as in the case of the previous rangoli, in this case too, two intermediate steps of this big rangoli is shown in the photos below. To state the obvious, in the first case the six patterns on the corner and the one at the centre are drawn. Then the lines are connected around or along these patterns using the dots around to get the stage in the second photo. The third photo shows the completed design but without colours.

Obviously, the completed rangoli is another common big kolam. Again to complete it with colours, patience is required. If the background is also to be filled one will need 15 minutes extra. The entire kolam design with colours and the background also in colour is available in Margazhi season and rangoli.

The elephant-rangoli designs is a rangoli with 21 to 1 dots. The video is on my YouTube channel. Two intermediate steps are shown below. The right one with only the elephants and canopied seat (called howdah or ambari ). The gaps between two elephants is filled with a four petal floral design and the tusk as shown in image at the top. That leaves only the dots at the centre. I have filled it with a common floral petal design which with colours filled is available in simple floral patterns. ( Simple rangoli designs can be used independently as a rangoli or as a part of a bigger rangoli ). The first stage shows only the four elephants drawn on four sides with the canopied seat and caparison ( a decorative cloth on the back ) . In the second stage I have added the tusk(s) and floral patterns between the elephants.

There are many more rangoli that need between 20 and 25 dots. Since drawing them by the traditional method is time consuming, I will update this post as and when I add more rangoli designs of this type to my collection.

Advertisement

Copyright, privacy policy

Rangoli-sans-dots is primarily a collection of rangoli / kolam drawn following the traditional method.

We are fascinated by the colours, patterns, designs, symmetry and geometry in nature. The beautiful flowers, the symmetry in the arrangement of leaves, stripes and spots on animals, colourful birds are some examples. We naturally try to imitate nature through our own humble ways. All countries, cultures have their customs, traditions and hobbies that bring out colourful designs and patterns. They all have contributed to a wonderful collage of designs. All countries big and small, cultures past and present by their contribution to this beautiful collage of arts have made our world a more beautiful place to live in. One of the elements of this collage is Rangoli